Support for soap cake



April 25, 1967 c. H. TATHAM 3,315,933

SUPPORT FOR SOAP CAKE Filed May 4, 1966 array/142"):

United States Patent 3,315,933 SUPPORT FOR SOAP CAKE Charles H. Tatham, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Charles H. Tatham, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.

Filed May 4, 1966, Ser. No. 547,537 5 Claims. (Cl. 248309) This invention relates to cakes of soap for hand or bath use, and more particularly to means for mounting or supporting such soap cakes.

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel and improved arrangement for mounting a cake of soap in readiness for use in such fashion as to permit the soap to dry rapidly, thus obviating the possibility of a portion of the soap getting soft due to contact with moisture.

It is another object to provide an improved soap cake construction with these characteristics, which is attractive in appearance and convenient to use.

It is a further object to provide in combination a cake of soap and support therefor, in which the soap and support are so constructed as to coact in suspending the soap so as to be completely surrounded by air, and in which the cake of soap may be repeatedly removed from and replaced on the support without damage to the soap cake.

It is a further object to provide an improved cake of soap and support therefor of the above nature, in which the support may be easily mounted on a surface adjacent a wash stand, bath or shower.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, partly sectioned, showing a cake of soap mounted on a support hook attached to a vertical surface, and

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view, partially sectioned, of another embodiment of the invention in which the liner is cast in the soap cake, the support in this embodiment being shown as mounted on a horizontal surface.

Briefly, each of the illustrated embodiments of the invention comprises a cake of soap in the form of a ball, with a recess extending radially inwardly from the surface of a cake of soap to approximately the center. This recess is substantially cylindrical, and a cup-shaped liner of hard material is disposed in the bottom of the recess. This liner may either be inserted in the drilled recess or may be cast in the recess at the time the cake of soap is formed.

In combination with this cake of soap, vided in the form of either a hook or a on whether the support is to be mounted horizontal surface. ortion extending a support is prostand, depending on a vertical or This support has a relatively narrow from a base, with an enlarged head. A ball of soap can be mounted on the support by placing the recess over the support extension, so that the rounded end of the extension engages the hard liner. The support extension is so shaped that when the ball of soap is mounted thereon, it will be suspended in midair with the recess inclined or pointing downwardly, so that all moisture will drain from the ball of soap and it will dry rapidly.

The support base may be mounted on the surface either by an adhesive, by screw means, or a combination of these.

Referring more particularly to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, the cake of soap is generally indicated at 11 and is in the shape of a ball. A recess 12 extends radially inwardly from the surface 13 of the ball of soap, this recess being of substantially cylindrical shape and extending inwardly approximately to the center of the ball or perhaps slightly beyond. The mouth 14 of recess 12 may be appropriately flared.

A hard liner 15 is mounted in the bottom of recess 12. This liner is of cup-shaped construction and may be fabricated of any of various plastic materials which are insoluble in water. The bottom of recess 12 is preferably rounded, and liner 15 is of complementary shape so as to contact the recess bottom over its entire surface.

In FIGURE 1, the liner is shown as having an outside diameter equal to the diameter of bore 12 so that a slight shoulder 16 is present at the outer end of the liner. The length of liner 15 is substantially less than the length of recess 12, so that the liner will only occupy the innermost portion of the recess.

A support is provided for soap 11, this support being generally indicated at 17 in FIGURE 1. The support is in the form of a hook having a base 18, a hook-shaped extension 19 extending upwardly therefrom, and a rounded enlargement 21 at the upper end of extension 19. Base 18 is adapted to be mounted on a vertical wall 22 by means of screws 23 and possibly an adhesive layer 24.

Extension 19 extends a sufiicient horizontal distance from base 18 to enable the cake of soap 11 to be mounted on the extension. The thickness of extension 19 is substantially less than the diameter of recess 12, so that the recess may be placed over the extension with enlargement 21 of the extension engaging the inside of liner 15, as seen in FIGURE 1.

In this position, the cake of soap will be suspended in midair with recess 12 being open downwardly, so that moisture will be completely drained from the soap cake and it will dry quickly without the danger of soft portions being created because of water contact. The presence of liner 15 will prevent enlargement 21 of the support from penetrating into the soap material, and since the liner is in fully contacting engagement with the bottom of the recess, the liner will stay in this position despite repeated removal and replacement of the ball of soap.

In FIGURE 1, recess 12 may be drilled with the insert 15 inserted afterwards. FIGURE 2 shows a modified form of the invention in which a ball of soap is generally indicated at 101 and has a recess 102 with a, flared entrance 103. A liner 104 similar to liner 15 is mounted liner is cast into the ball of soap when it is manufactured, the mold being such that a smooth surface for the recess will be presented, shoulder 105 of liner 104 being covered by the soap material.

In the FIGURE 2 embodiment, the support is generally indicated at 106 and is adapted to be mounted on a horizontal surface 107. For this purpose, base 108 of the support is provided with an adhesive layer 109. Extension 111 of the support is vertical, with enlargement 112 at the top. The height of extension 111 is suflicient to permit liner 104 to engage enlargement 112 when the ball of soap is mounted on the support. Here again, the ball of soap will be suspended in midair so as to be entirely and quickly driable, with recess 102 pointing downwardly so as to drain moisture therefrom.

The fact that liners 15 and 104 in the two embodiments are much shorter than their respective recesses will mean that the soap can be repeatedly used without the hands of the user touching the liner in any way. It is only after the ball of soap has been sufiiciently to expose the edge of the liner that it will be felt.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiments of the invention disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A cake of soap having a recessed portion extending inwardly from the surface thereof and terminating in the interior of the cake of soap with a rounded bottom, and

after the thickness of the cake has been substantially reduced during use.

2. The combination according to claim 1, said cake of soap being in rounded form, said recessed portion extending radially inwardly from the surface of said cake of soap substantially to the center thereof.

3. In combination, a cake of soap in rounded form,

a recessed portion extending inwardly from the surface of said cake of soap approximately to the center thereof, a liner of relatively hard material insoluble in water disposed with the inner end of said recess, said liner and the inner end of said recess being of complementary rounded shape with no sharp points or edges whereby the liner contacts the inner end of the recess over a substantial area, the length of the liner being substantially less than the depth of the recessed portion, whereby the liner is in non-interfering relation with the surface of the cake even after the thickness of the cake has been substantially reduced during use, and a support for said cake of soap comprising a base, means for attaching said base to a supporting surface, and an extension on said base, the thickness of said extension being substantially less than the diameter of said recessed portion whereby the extension may freely enter the recessed portion, the end of said extension being rounded and engageable with the inside of said liner and being a sufficient distance from said base to enable said cake of soap to be supported on the extension, the direction of said extension being such that the cake of soap will be mounted in free air with the recessed portion pointing downwardly.

4. The combination according to claim 3, further provided with means for securing said base to a supporting surface, said last-mentioned means comprising an adhesive layer.

5. The combination according to claim 3, further provided with screw means for attaching said base to a supporting surface.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 246,989 9/1881 Wilkerson 248-359 624,809 5/1899 Howe 248-309 757,638 4/1904 Roake 248-359 2,586,626 2/1952 Dunn 248-309 2,679,998 6/1954 Keller 248-205 3,125,824 3/1964 Staver 248-205 X FOREIGN PATENTS 83,283 12/1919 Switzerland.

CLA'UDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CAKE OF SOAP HAVING A RECESSED PORTION EXTENDING INWARDLY FROM THE SURFACE THEREOF AND TERMINATING IN THE INTERIOR OF THE CAKE OF SOAP WITH A ROUNDED BOTTOM, AND A LINER OF RELATIVELY HARD MATERIAL INSOLUBLE IN WATER, SAID LINER BEING OF CUP-SHAPED CONFIGURATION AND HAVING A ROUNDED INNER END WITH NO SHARP POINTS OR EDGES ENGAGING THE BOTTOM OF THE RECESSED PORTION OVER A SUBSTANTIAL AREA, THE LENGTH OF SAID LINER BEING SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE LENGTH OF SAID RECESSED PORTION, WHEREBY THE LINER IS IN NON-INTERFERING RELATION WITH THE SURFACE OF THE CAKE EVEN AFTER THE THICKNESS OF THE CAKE HAS BEEN SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED DURING USE. 